One Kiss
by DreamingOutLoud92
Summary: She's the girl with the National Championship. He's the party boy with the Olympic gold medal. Both are under the pressure to defend their titles.  One kiss can change everything. Post 2x06.  Kaylie/Austin.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimers: All names, characters, or anything else are the property of MIOBI and ABC Famliy. I own nothing.**

**Author's Note: This story takes place after episode 2x06, specifically Austin and Kaylie's kiss. Later chapters may or may not follow the plot of the new episodes of the show. This is my first fanfic, so any help, advice, comments, etc. would be greatly appreciated!**

Despite her attempt at a swift, discrete exit from the party, she could feel him behind her, quickly gaining with his long, powerful strides. She knew it would only be a matter of seconds until he caught up to her, giving him the perfect opportunity to ridicule her about the reason she came to his party. As if she hadn't already been mocked enough for failing to display her kegger antics of last year, now she looked like a manic dictator trying to control everything and everyone around her. Regardless of the fact that she gave little credence to his opinion of her, she couldn't help feeling embarrassed that he probably now thought of her as an uptight loser with control issues.

Hearing him begin to speak behind her, she quickly turned, ready for whatever he might say. Shocked when he simply asked if she was alright, she egged him on, hoping that he would just say what he wanted to and then leave her alone.

But it never came. The manner in which he talked to her was starkly different than the tone of an egotistical ass that he usually emitted, even bordering on being genuinely concerned. And for some reason she couldn't help but open up to him, letting everything that had been brimming at the surface spill out.

Maybe it was simply because he seemed to care, because instead of criticizing he had comforted her. Maybe it was the way he smiled, the way his eyes seemed to light up, the way his face looked bright, happy, free of all worries. Or maybe it was just because, for once, he had actually surpassed her expectations, instead of failing to meet them and letting her down like everyone else in her life had.

Then, before she could stop them, it was her tears that began to spill out along with her emotions. How could she act like this, so flustered, so upset, when he, who was under as just as much, if not more, pressure than she could be so calm and collected? Thinking about this only served to further upset her, making her want to leave so she could suffer in her embarrassment alone.

Yet something about him - his eyes, his voice, maybe his smile - kept her there, kept her listening to him unwaveringly. This seemed so unlike him. So with every second that continued to pass between the two, she kept waiting for him to drop this kind and compassionate act, this persona so completely opposite of his typical demeanor towards her.

But the act never faded. Whether it was a mask he wore extremely well or the true personality hidden beneath his nonchalant, party-boy exterior, she didn't know. But what she did know was that right at this very moment, despite the tears trickling down her face and the emotions running rampant within her, she felt better than she had in a while. For once, someone seemed to care about her, genuinely, as a person rather than only a gymnast.

Which is why, after vaguely recognizing that he was telling her to just let go, she didn't flinch as he closed the distance between them, slowly dipping down his head and lifting her chin up so that her lips could meet his.

The instance they touched, she suddenly felt her thoughts, her worries, her frustrations all slip away. All she could feel was the soft, tender presence of the man she confessed to hate against her lips. Eyes closed, it was as if the entire world had melted away, nothing on her mind but this given moment. No gymnastics, no coaches pressuring her, no fighting parents, no backstabbing best friend, just right now. And in this moment of right here, right now, everything was okay.

Too bad that wonderful feeling of total freedom and complete calm in her vanished the second they separated.

* * *

_Damn you Austin Tucker._

Slowly waking from her rather stressful night of sleep, Kaylie Cruz couldn't stop repeating this phrase over and over again in head.

Why did he even have to come to the Rock in the first place? If he had just kept his little arrogant ass back wherever he had come from she wouldn't be having these problems.

It was bad enough that he was always taunting her in the gym, throwing those cocky, yet ever-so-charming, smiles and winks at her, trying to get under her skin and disrupt her focus in his delusion attempt to either flirt or mess with her. She really couldn't tell the difference with him. But then he had to go and throw that stupid party. And he conveniently happened to have it the one time they didn't have to practice the next day. Of course.

And as if it hadn't already been embarrassing enough to be reminded by _everyone_ that she had exchanged fun-loving Keg-stand Kaylie for a controlling dork that only came to a party to check up on her teammate, he couldn't just let her leave. No, he had to be all nice and compassionate and caring, like he actually gave a damn about her life and her problems. And then he had to go and kiss her. Which wouldn't have been so bad if she didn't enjoy it so much.

It wasn't so much the kiss as the way she felt. Granted, the kiss was still good. Really good, great actually. He was confident, strong, sure, while still being gentle. Those few seconds she shared with him had been better than any make-out session she had had with Carter. But she should have expected that. He was Austin Tucker after all. His reputation obviously came from somewhere.

What she hadn't expected was the ability to feel so comfortable and safe in his presence. During the brief time in which their lips had connected, she felt completely at ease, like nothing or no one could ever hurt her, like no matter what happened she would be okay. In that moment she had let all her worries fall away, feeling amazingly free, no need to impress or please anyone, not even herself. It was the most incredible feeling she had every experienced. Unfortunately, it was gone the instance his lips left hers.

Which is exactly why she so mad at him.

Because he had simultaneously exposed her to a magnificent new world and made it impossible for her to ever return to it, as the only way she could was if she kissed him again. Which everyone knew wasn't going to happen, considering no one knew they had even kissed once. And she planned on keeping it that way.

No matter how good the kiss or how good the feeling, Kaylie Cruz had sworn off boys and intended to keep her promise. Just because her promise ring now sat at the bottom of that lake didn't mean that she wouldn't hold true to it anymore. If she was going to win Worlds, she needed her focus to be solely on gymnastics. Screw what Austin had said about letting going and just forgetting for a little while. If that meant having to kiss him or, god forbid, having some sort of relationship with him, she would take stressed, control-freak, dorky Kaylie any day. She wasn't about to become another one of his one night stands. Getting involved with him would only result in his letting her down and hurting her.

Like Lauren had when she slept with her boyfriend.

Like Carter had when he had cheated on her.

Like her mom had when she had an affair with her coach and her dad had when he refused to even move back into the house. Like both of them had when they chose to break up her family instead of trying to work out their issues with each other.

And Kaylie couldn't handle anymore hurt. If one more person she thought she could trust ended up hurting her, she was certain she would break.

So she resolved not to trust Austin, not to let him in again and expose herself like she so foolishly had done yesterday. In fact, she would pretend that yesterday hadn't even happened. The kiss, the kind and caring Austin, anything else that had took place between the two of them was strictly a part of her memory. She would come to the Rock tomorrow and treat it like any other day, treat him like she normally would have any other day. And hopefully he would get the message.

She had a career to concentrate on. Right now there were so many uncertainties as it is. She didn't even know if she was going to make the world team, and if she did how she would do. It would only be that much harder if she was chasing after some guy. She would have plenty of time to worry about boys after the Olympics. And when she did, she wouldn't waste her time worrying about guys like Austin. She wouldn't waste her time on a someone who she could never share a real relationship with.

Of that she was certain.


	2. Chapter 2

He wasn't really sure why he followed her when he saw her heading towards the driveway. After all, he had a party to host, one complete with a several hot girls and and several kegs of good beer. Why would he want to leave to chase after the girl who basically took every opportunity she could to criticize his desire to have a little fun every once in a while?

Truthfully, he felt bad for her. Yes, he thoroughly enjoyed watching her sweat a little, get a little bit uncomfortable, get knocked off the high horse she had been riding since she won Nationals. But even he had a heart. And watching her get reprimanded by her teammates hadn't been nearly as satisfying as he had expected it to be.

Suddenly discovering that he had nearly caught up to her, he realized he didn't know what he was going to say to her or what he was going to do. Maybe he would crack a few jokes, hopefully loosening her up, even making her laugh. Or maybe he would just let her leave and not give her another chance to call him an arrogant ass. However, as soon as she opened her mouth and her voice betrayed the defeat and hurt she was feeling, he knew.

It was as if some new force, some new presence had entered his body. He had the foreign urge to just reach out his arms for her, hold her, assure her that everything would be okay. But that just wasn't something he did. He didn't kindly hug the girls he liked, he made out with them.

Wait, he didn't like her, did he?

Pushing this newfound conflict to the back of his mind, he settled for just offering her some advice. He was in a pretty similar situation himself wasn't he. After all that had happened today, the least he could do was help her out.

Yet as she continued to unload all of her pent-up frustrations and worries in front of him, fighting off that urge of before become more difficult the longer she talked. She was clearly under a type of stress she was sorely unprepared to deal with emotionally. He wanted to do something to make her feel better, something to let her forgot her worries, if only for a short while.

When the tears began to slowly fall from her eyes, he couldn't take it anymore. It actually hurt him to see how visibly upset she was my everything that was going on in her life. In one swift motion he lowered his head towards her, simultaneously lifting her chin, bringing their lips together.

It was the type of kiss he had hardly ever initiated. It was soft, chaste, confident without being aggressive. And although it only lasted a few seconds, it was long enough for him to feel something, something other than the usual lust that accompanied his interactions with women. He felt strangely full, whole, content. He wasn't entirely certain that he liked it, but he was sure he had never experienced anything like it before.

Not wanting to let things get carried away, he broke off the kiss. Looking down, he was relieved to see that she wasn't upset at him. True, she wasn't exactly happy, but she at least looked content, better than before.

As he said goodbye to her and turned to go back to the party, he was shocked by the feeling of emptiness that suddenly filled him.

* * *

_Damn you Kaylie Cruz._

Austin Tucker woke up with a throbbing heading, a combination of the rather large number of alcoholic beverages he had imbibed yesterday, as well as the hassle of having to deal with the police who had busted his party. Luckily, being an Olympic gold medalist and having a party full of other Olympians had its perks. Like usual, he had been able to maintain his reputation while still avoiding the consequences. Life was good.

Or at least it would have been if a certain dark-haired female gymnast hadn't been haunting his thoughts all night. For God's sake, he had dreamt about her. Multiple times. Austin Tucker doesn't dream about girls, he sleeps with them.

But then again Kaylie Cruz made him want to do a lot of things that he normally wouldn't do around girls.

Like that stupid urge he had had to hug her or whatever last night. What the hell was that? It was no secret to himself, and maybe even others at the gym, that he had her eyes on her since he had started training at the Rock, probably even since he had met her outside the hotel in France. But when he finally got the opportunity, he wanted to blow her mind, not give her some chaste little kiss that married couples of twenty years give each other.

Whatever. He could have dealt with the botched opportunity if not for the utterly foreign feeling of their interaction. What was with that feeling of fullness when they touched and then that sudden feeling of emptiness upon their separation? This girl compelled him to act differently, to feel differently. And he didn't like it. Not one bit. And if he could've just stopped thinking about her, this problem would be irrelevant.

But it wasn't. Because he couldn't stop thinking about her. Every time he stopped to pause, or god forbid, close his eyes, her face was the only thing that he could see. That stupidly beautiful face that even red eyes and tearing running down her checks couldn't ruin. She really was the most beautiful girl she had ever seen.

Which was clearly was he couldn't get her out of his head. Because despite the large number of attractive women he always seemed to, well, attract, there was rarely someone who he _might_ be _remotely _interested in that could portray that type of beauty with even trying. And unlike almost every other girl that came into his presence, she didn't throw herself at him. In fact, she always did just the opposite.

So she was just different, that was all. A refreshing change from the norm that one needed every once in a while to break the monotony of a patterned life. But Austin Tucker didn't need different, he didn't need a change.

And anyways, yesterday she had precisely proved why he never got involved with female gymnasts. Too uptight, too serious, too unwilling to bend the rules and live a little while they were still young. Clearly too concerned with their own goals and accomplishments to take the time to have a life. And on top of all that this particular one had a promise ring. A goddamn promise ring. So it wasn't like he would be getting anywhere with her.

Not that he wanted to. He was his own man. He didn't need to bossed around by _National Champion_ Kaylie Cruz.

In fact, he was perfectly content with the way things had been before he'd ever met her. After all, he was young, good looking, and had an Olympic gold medal.

What more could he want?


	3. Chapter 3

"Kaylie, honey, what are you doing up? I thought Sasha gave you girls the day off today."

Entering the kitchen in her sweatpants and zip-up jacket, Kaylie was just as surprised to see her mother as her mother apparently was to see her. Ever since Kaylie had convinced her mom to become her PR Manager, she had hardly seen her, even at the Rock. She would come by the gym occasionally, though her visits usually only consisted of a quick stop in the office, maybe a short conversation with Summer or Mrs. Keeler and a disapproving look at Mr. Tanner and Mrs. Kemetko as she passed by them on her way out.

And Kaylie appreciated the effort her mom was making to get her sponsorship deals and whatnot. She really did. By letting her take care of all that PR and marketing business, Kaylie was free to focus exclusively on gymnastics, just like she had promised herself. But she silently wished her mom could also take the time to at least pretend like she was trying to resolve her issues with her husband. The two seemed more distant than ever since Kaylie had convinced them to postpone their divorce.

"He may have given us the day off from gymnastics, but that doesn't mean I should sit around and do nothing," Kaylie replied while examining the contents of their refrigerator for her breakfast. Settling on an apple, she turned towards her mother, continuing, "If I want to go number one for the US at Worlds, I can't afford to take anytime off now. Team tryouts are next week, remember?"

"How could I not?" she replied, unable to hide the subtle trace of disdain in her voice. "It's all you and your father have talked about lately."

"You've talked to Dad?" Maybe things weren't so bad between them after all.

Sometimes at night, when her mom told her she was going to a dinner meeting with potential sponsors, Kaylie would pretend that she was lying, and that she was actually meeting her father somewhere. Walks in the park. Secret rendezvouses at a hotel. Romantic dinners at Le Privilege. She had imagined it all. On the best nights it would provide her healthy distraction from everything going on in her life, something happy to think about for the future. On the worst, it would become her reality, leaving her to rise in the morning and hurt from the utter falsity of what she believed to be true.

"I've actually been talking to your father quite a bit during the past few weeks." Kaylie's heart skipped a beat or two. So what if they weren't ready to become romantic again? Talking was where all relationships, or at least the ones with the ability to last beyond a one-night stand, started, right? "We were actually hoping you would come to dinner with us tonight to talk, all three of us, no gymnastics, just a family dinner. Could you manage to make room for that in your training schedule?", already knowing what Kaylie's answer would be.

"Yes, of course, how could you ever think I would say no?" she replied, unable to contain her evident excitement. "I wouldn't miss it for the world."

Nearly skipping out of the kitchen, Kaylie left to workout, thoughts of her family reunited floating happily through her head.

* * *

A few years worth of experience had taught Austin Tucker that the best way to relieve stress was to completely escape it. And for him, there was no better way to do that than a ride on his bike.

In some ways, Lolita was his best friend. Honestly. It was like having someone who would listen to anything you had to say and, no matter what it was, would still be there for you afterwards. Unlike people, he could always count on her. She wasn't subject to the capricious whims of the emotional human mind. Anytime he needed to vent, think, or just gather his thoughts, she was there. She hadn't failed him yet and he didn't expect her to anytime soon. Plus, she was pretty damn sexy.

Even after his large breakfast consisting of nearly every hangover cure known to man, Austin's headache had waned, but still hadn't completely left. Something was still lingering there, something that he was positive no amount of bagels, bacon, and bananas would eradicate.

His conversation with Kaylie yesterday, as well as their subsequent kiss, had affected him more than he would have liked to admit. The kiss had its own problems, a very unique set of them that he didn't quite feel like dealing with right now. But attempting to help relieve her stress had created, or rather rekindled, his own.

He hadn't been lying to her when he told her that the pressure to stay on top was worse than the pressure to get there. He had been living with it for almost two years, since his win in Beijing. Since then it had been a continual ebb and flow. Most of the time it merely manifested itself during those rare moments of failure – a stumbling dismount, a missed grip, a botched routines. In those instances it reminded him that he wasn't unbeatable, that he was human, despite attempts inside and out to demonstrate anything but. Usually, that was it. Reminded of his vulnerability, he attacked the sport with renewed passion and focus, often delivering results better than before.

Occasionally, though, the pressure only worsened, forming a sea of self doubt in his mind, filled with maybes, what-ifs, and other uncertainties. It was a territory so foreign to Austin that he often found himself struggling to find a way out. After nearly losing to Nicky Russo at Nationals last year, he had felt that pressure of trying to stay on top more acutely than ever before.

That's when he discovered the remedial properties of an hour or two with Lolita. Since then, the pressure had failed to produce anything more than a negligible scratch on his psyche, allowing him to embrace the nonchalant, party boy demeanor everyone knew him by to the fullest.

Leave it to Miss Cruz to disrupt that. At a party. _His _party, no less.

He knew he got to her, messed with her, shook her up. She might be doing the same thing to him.

Unintentionally, of course. Kaylie Cruz was too uptight to do something fun consciously.

God, he needed to get her out of his head.

Enter Lolita.

* * *

She could finally breathe again.

Since the near dissolution of her parent's marriage and her subsequent plea for them to postpone their divorce, Kaylie felt like she had been holding her breath, waiting for something to ruin her attempt to bring her family back together. With her mother's mention of their frequent talks and their inviting her to dinner tonight, it finally seemed like they were connecting again. Things may not be the way they used to be for a while, maybe not ever. But, at least the waiting was over.

And it felt so good.

Almost as good as that moment with Austin yester – wait, was she really about to consider that kiss following her ill-timed breakdown better than the prospect of her family reuniting?

She hated him so much. Even more so since yesterday, in that rare instance when he had been sincerely nice to her. Because now she couldn't ignore him, she couldn't forget him. He was stuck in her head.

_Of course. The one guy I can't stand is the one I can't stop thinking about._ It was like some corny romantic comedy where the two people who have absolutely nothing in common and who profess to hate one another somehow end up falling in love and spending forever together. Which was complete bullshit. People who loved each other and were _meant_ to be together had a hard enough time lasting a few years, much less forever. She'd had a front row seat to that movie. It was called her life. And it wasn't leaving theaters anytime soon.

But the most recent addition had seemed to take an upward turn.

She almost hated herself for being so happy, so hopeful. All her mom had said was that her and her father had been talking. For all she knew, it could just be about gymnastics, stupid business conversations that they were trying to portray to her as meaningful interactions. But she needed to believe that something could go right for her now.

It was as if winning at Nationals was only made possible by her losing everything else.

Her boyfriend.

Her best friend.

Her family.

Everyone else thought she had everything she could have wanted. And she desperately hoped that, one day, they would be right.

But right now, all she had was a National Championship that, in the end, didn't mean anything. It was merely symbolic of her past achievement. In no way did it assure her of anything more than having her name put down in some record book as "Kaylie Cruz – 2008 National Champion" or a similar banner in front of the Rock.

Which is why she _needed_ to believe that her parents were on the right track, that sometime soon her dad would move back in, that eventually their family would be together and happy again.

Because relying on gymnastics wasn't enough anymore.

She needed someone to be there for her whether she won the gold in 2012 or she didn't even make the Olympic team. Something that could make her believe that people really can be happy, happy forever. Someone that would make _her_ happy forever. Something that would be with her forever and would never let go.

And that was something that gymnastics could never provide.

Because all the gold medals in the world meant nothing if she had no one to turn to after gymnastics inevitably decided to let her down too.

* * *

This really was the best feeling in the world.

It truly rivaled the euphoria of winning the all-around at a big meet or nailing that new routine with the added degree of difficulty.

Body flying through the air, bike racing along the street, that sense of invincibility, that freedom – few things in life could match that.

And it was just the cure that Austin had been looking for. No more headache, no more self-doubt, no more worries.

At least about gymnastics.

Kaylie Cruz? That was a completely different story.

He was starting to regret ever following her out of that party. He had no idea that a few kinds words and a chaste kiss would lead to this.

And he didn't even know what _this _was.

What would it take for her to just leave him alone and let him have some peace and quiet?

Spending some time with Lolita did the trick in most circumstances. But clearly, this wasn't a case of normal circumstances. He was going to have to take more dramatic measures if he hoped to avoid the constant and nagging memories of that one ill-planned moment from taking over his thoughts.

He could try to drink her out of head. But even he knew that wasn't the best idea the week before World team tryouts, no matter how good he was. Plus, knowing his recent luck with trying to avoid thoughts of her, Kaylie Cruz would only be that much greater of a presence under the heavy influence of alcohol.

He could go to the Rock, try to perfect his new parallel bars routine. But going there, the place he saw her the most, would likely do nothing to eradicate her presence in her head, and would probably only exacerbate it.

No, he needed to do something that would have no chance of being associated with her. He needed to do something he and she would never do. He needed to do something one hundred percent Kaylie-free. Scrolling through the list of names in his phone, he found the one he was looking for.

"Jenny, it's Austin."

* * *

Sitting at the restaurant table, her parents across from her, Kaylie finally felt like she was part of a family again.

Her parents were getting along great. No snide comments, no awkward silences, no arguments. It was just like, well, never, as far as Kaylie could remember. Even before the Marty fiasco, her parents had always been a little disconnected, especially since Kaylie had gotten serious about gymnastics. But tonight seemed so different – they appeared problem-free.

Conversation floated between a variety of rather meaningless topics as they ate. After politely declining dessert, Kaylie got ready to leave, so pleased with the way the evening had went that she wanted it to end before something went wrong.

"Kaylie, honey, do you mind sitting back down? Your father and I have something we need to tell you," her mom said, a trace of cautiousness and uncertainty in the tone.

Surprised by the request, Kaylie's mind started racing, heart beating a little faster in her chest. Maybe her dad was moving back in, maybe they decided to forget the divorce all together.

"Kaylie," her father started. "You know your mother and I both love you very much, and we would never want to do anything that would hurt you." What was the hell was he saying? He was supposed to telling her how he was coming home, how they were going to make the effort to be a family, not giving her the 'we would never want to hurt you, but we're going to anyway' talk.

"Yeah, sure, of course, umm, is that it? Because I really some rest, we have that National team practice soon and I want to be ready, so I just need to go, you know, get some sleep," she stuttered, words illogically spewing out, trying to find some escape from the reality that was on the verge of crashing down on her.

"This'll only take a minute," her dad stated, seemingly unable to find anything else to say about the situation. "We both know how important this practice is for you and your career, and want you to be at your best."

Pause.

"Which your father and I," her mother took over, "feel would be best accomplished if I was no longer your manager. We think things would be easier for you if it was just your father."

"Why would things be easier for me?" Kaylie responded, questioning the logic of their decision. Trying to fish for an answer, she spit out the first thing that came to her mind. "Because if it was about the floor music or something like that, I'm sure we can figure it out."

"Sweetie, we wish it were as simple as that," her mother responded, as if it to say was a satisfying answer that should end the conversation.

Which it obviously wasn't.

"Well, what is it?", cautious hope still lingering.

After a long exchange of looks, her mother finally continued, "Honey, we know we promised to put off the divorce, and we still are, but we think it's best for you if you start getting used to your father and I being apart. Permanently."

For a second Kaylie couldn't breath, couldn't speak. Anger was slowly raising to the surface, but all she could do was sit there, unfocused, staring aimlessly ahead, numb from the gradual realization of what she had just heard.

And then she snapped.

"I can't believe you're just giving up!", she shouted, unfazed by the heads that turned her way. "I thought you were going to at least _try _to work things out. But I guess that was just another one of your lies."

"Kaylie, you have every right to be angry with us," her dad tried to rationalize.

"No shit," she responded, unable to control the flow of emotions coursing through her. "It's not like you two are trying to tear my family apart or anything." She blinked her eyes, attempting to hold back the tears coming to the surface.

"Kaylie," he began, as if addressing her by name would make every better, "you're mother and I are different people who can't be together right now. And given the situation with the National team -"

"What situation?", Kaylie blurted out, just as her mother issued a scolding, "Alex!"

It took a moment for her to realize what they were saying. And then it clicked.

"Oh my God! This is still about Marty, isn't it?" Not wanting to wait for the answer she knew was coming, she got up, making her way to the exit.

"We just want to be honest with you. We don't want you to be living in a dream world. We want you to know the reality of the situation," her father said, trying to convince her to stay.

"We want, we want, we want!", she screamed. "What about what I want? Have you two ever thought about that? Have you ever considered that all I want is for my family to be together? Clearly not, because all you seem to care about is yourself."

And with that she was gone. She didn't need to hear anymore excuses or rationalizations, anymore of what was best for her. Which is really what was best for them.

She got in her car and drove. She didn't care where she went. Because what did it really matter? It's not like anyone cared about her as anything beyond a gymnast anyway. Her parents had made that pretty clear tonight.

Eventually she pulled over, unable to see through the hazy fog of her tears.

And then the waterfall came.

And she didn't care.

Everything that she had been holding in from the restaurant came pouring out. How could her parents do this to her? How could they pretend that they cared about her when they did things liked this? How could she have done this to herself?

That was the worst part. She had let herself believe that her parents were going to get back together when everything else indicated the opposite. Hadn't she just spent the morning convincing herself that she couldn't trust Austin, couldn't let him in, couldn't allow him to let her hope and then let her down? And then she had let herself go and make that very mistake with her parents.

Crawling into the backseat, she curled up, hoping her heavy sobs would somehow lull her into sleep. When that didn't work, she attempted the one thing she had left.

Closing her eyes, she let in the memory of yesterday. She didn't need to hear his words, didn't need to see his face, didn't even needed to feel his lips against hers.

All she needed was that feeling, that stark blankness, that incredible nothingness. That world that in which anything was possible, the one that she had only ever reached with him.

Just because she _couldn't_ trust in didn't mean she didn't want to let him in.

**A/N: Okay, long chapter, but I wanted to get some plot rolling. There should be some Austin/Kaylie interaction next chapter. Thanks for the reviews! **


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